1950-51 Theatre Catalog, 9th Edition, Page 243 (223)

1950-51 Theatre Catalog, 9th Edition, Page 243

Station System Refreshment Vending

The General Operating Essentials of a Widely Used
Selling Method Are Discussed With a Specific Case

The refreshment stand has become
firmly established as an integral part of
every progressive drive-in theatre operation not only because the provision of an
attractive concession area where a variety of tasty snacks are available helps
to further patron goodwill, but also
because confection sales form a sizeable
percentage of total revenue. As a matter
of fact, refreshment receipts may well
make up for admission losses on nights
when attendance is down for one reason
or another.

Due to its overwhelming importance in
a successful drive-in venture, eflicient
refreshment stand operation has been a
subject of intensive study within the
industry. After a considerable bit of the
same painstaking experimentation which
has accompanied the development of
every phase of modern drive-in theatre
operation, two principal methods of
concession stand vending have evolved
and are currently in use in outdoor
theatres today.

The first of these is the ifstation system," under which the customer is generally served all merchandise and money
collected for his purchases at one point
of sale; in most cases, at least some of the food is prepared at this same point.
The second method, which will be discussed at length in a subsequent article
in this volume, is the cafeteria system,
under which the customer often serves
himself various foodstuffs at diderent
points along the counter and pays for his
food at one central point, usually a
cashier at the end of the line.

1950-51 THEATRE CATALOG

By CHARLES B. BLOOD

Slur iManufacluring Company

BRIEF: Entertainment and eating have
long been intimately linked together in
the public mind . . . and the drive-in
theatre has an excellent opportunity to
capitalize on this natural association . . .
It is not only the open air that whets
the appetites of one and all to encourage refreshment sales . . . The drive-in,
always draws a large number of children
eager for snacks.

Concession areas . . . erected to answer the wants of hungry patrons with a
neat extra profit for the drive-in theatre
. . . have been operated in a number of
ways . . . A notable popular method is the
station system . . . whereby a customer
is usually taken care of completely by
one attendant . . . The following article outlines the requirements for this
kind of operation . . . as exemplified
by a typical stand with an ideal set-up
for e$cient service.

Just as there has been heated debate
over the respective merits of various
types of screens and projection lamps,
so has there been considerable controversy over the question of which one of the above systems best fulfills the needs
of efficient drive-in refreshment stand
operation. No definite answer can be
found to the problem because the question itself is a highly moot one. Since
each system has its distinctive good
points, the burden of responsibility rests

upon the drive-in owner in selecting the
one which appears to fit his particular
requirements best.

However, the writer might venture
to say that, as a general rule, the station
system is better suited to smaller operations, While the cafeteria type may be
used oftentimes to even greater advantage in larger theatres. Nevertheless,
many exceptions may be found to the
foregoing statement, so it by no means
should be construed as a hard and fast
rule. Again, it is up to the individual
operator to decide which method appears
to be most suitable for his own situation.

A TYPICAL STATION SYSTEM

In order to give the reader a complete
understanding of the layout, function,
and operating efficiencies to be sought
in a profitable station system, a refreshment stand in a typical SOD-car MidWestern drive-in has been selected for
discussion and analysis in this article.

While this particular stand combines
all of the basic requirements for sound
and profitable operation which must be
incorporated into any concession area
that purports to be successful, peculiarities and conditions of diderent localities
will, of course, necessitate variations in
detail in other stands. This single
example does, however, contain the

Figure l. A TYPICAL STATION OPERATION, that
may be considered as double in most departments. From left to right are a combination sandwich unit complete with steamer and griddle. two
hot dog steamers and roll warmers, a counter
type deep (at fryer. and a large popcorn machine.